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Ependymal cells line the interface between the ventricular surfaces and the brain parenchyma. These cells, in addition to the choroid plexus, form the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and the blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier (BCSFB) and serve important functions in the protection and regulation of brain metabolism. The African giant rat (AGR) has been used as sentinels to detect potential neuropathology arising from ecotoxicological pollutions. This study examined the lateral ventricular lining by using histology, immunohistochemistry and electron microscopy. Marked variations were observed in some regions of the ventricles which showed multi-layering of ependymal cells that differed from the typical single layered ependymal cells at the apical surface, while subependymal structures revealed indistinctive neuropil and glia following histological examinations. The ependymal cells which form the epithelial lining of the ventricles were comprised of cuboidal or low columnar cells, with the plasmalemma of abutting cells forming intercellular bridge appearing links by: tight junctions (zonula occludens), intermediate junctions (zonula adherens), desmosomes (macula adherens) and infrequent gap junctions. The choroid plexus revealed cells of Kolmer with several cilia and microvilli. The possible functional components of the ependyma and choroid plexus morphology of the AGR are discussed and thus provide a baseline for further research on the AGR brain.

Hausa is often indicated with the three most common types of affix, viz. prefix, infix and suffix. Whereas the availableness of prefixes and suffixes in the language is not in doubt, that of infixes may have resulted from erroneous perspectives. The so-called infixes in Hausa are, in truth, a relay of suffixes that became obscured by phonology or deletion, envisaged parallactically as infixation. In two other instances, infixation either arose as a simple case of unscrupulous use of terminology or was established on a seemingly irrelevant premise, namely the non-occurrence of a tonal phenomenon. Conclusively, the existence of infixation in Hausa is extraevidential, and therefore questionable.

The paper deals with the non-contiguous morphs in Hausa which are regarded as the manifestation of transfixation. Transfixation is an Afroasiatic feature that is apparent in Arabic. In the present publication it is also claimed to be evident in Hausa. The similarities between Arabic and Hausa are obvious in such linguistic phenomena as tri-literacy, the upgrading of aberrant roots and the existence in both languages of what are denominated here reduplicative and non-reduplicative transfixations. Transfixation in Hausa differentiates itself from its Arabic counterpart via vowel retention and external transfixation which makes the transfix liable to analysis as suffix in the manner of Newman (2000). But the chief contradistinguishing feature is the non-contiguity principle which establishes the affix as the critical component in the Hausa broken morphology.

ITER is of key importance in the European fusion roadmap as it aims to prove the scientific and technological feasibility of fusion as a future energy source. The EUROfusion consortium of labs within Europe is contributing to the preparation of ITER scientific exploitation and operation and aspires to exploit ITER outcomes in view of DEMO. The paper provides an overview of the major progress obtained recently, carried out in the frame of the new (initiated in 2021) EUROfusion work-package called ' Pr eparation of I TER O peration' (PrIO). The overview paper is directly supported by the eleven EUROfusion PrIO contributions given at the 29th Fusion Energy Conference (16–21 October 2023) London, UK [www.iaea.org/events/fec2023]. The paper covers the following topics: (i) development and validation of tools in support to ITER operation (plasma breakdown/burn-through with evolving plasma volume, new infra-red synthetic diagnostic for off-line analysis and wall monitoring using Artificial Intelligence techniques, synthetic diagnostics development, development and exploitation of multi-machine databases); (ii) R&D for the radio-frequency ITER neutral beam sources leading to long duration of negative deuterium/hydrogen ions current extraction at ELISE and participation in the neutral beam test facility with progress on the ITER source SPIDER, and, the commissioning of the 1 MV high voltage accelerator (MITICA) with lessons learned for ITER; (iii) validation of neutronic tools for ITER nuclear operation following the second JET deuterium–tritium experimental campaigns carried out in 2021 and in 2023 (neutron streaming and shutdown dose rate calculation, water activation and activated corrosion products with advanced fluid dynamic simulation; irradiation of several materials under 14.1 MeV neutron flux etc). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oral leukoplakia (OL) has an inherent disposition to develop oral cancer. OL with epithelial dysplasia (OED) is significantly likely to undergo malignant transformation; however, routine OED assessment is invasive and challenging. This study investigated whether a deep learning (DL) model can predict dysplasia probability among patients with leukoplakia using oral photographs. In addition, we assessed the performance of the DL model in comparison with clinicians' ratings and in providing decision support on dysplasia assessment. Retrospective images of leukoplakia taken before biopsy/histopathology were obtained to construct the DL model (n = 2,073). OED status following histopathology was used as the gold standard for all images. We first developed, fine-tuned, and internally validated a DL architecture with an EfficientNet-B2 backbone that outputs the predicted probability of OED, OED status, and regions-of-interest heat maps. Then, we tested the performance of the DL model on a temporal cohort before geographical validation. We also assessed the model's performance at external validation with opinions provided by human raters on OED status. Performance evaluation included discrimination, calibration, and potential net benefit. The DL model achieved good Brier scores, areas under the curve, and balanced accuracies of 0.124 (0.079–0.169), 0.882 (0.838–0.926), and 81.8% (76.5–87.1) at testing and 0.146 (0.112–0.18), 0.828 (0.792–0.864), and 76.4% (72.3–80.5) at external validation, respectively. In addition, the model had a higher potential net benefit in selecting patients with OL for biopsy/histopathology during OED assessment than when biopsies were performed for all patients. External validation also showed that the DL model had better accuracy than 92.3% (24/26) of human raters in classifying the OED status of leukoplakia from oral images (balanced accuracy: 54.8%–79.7%). Overall, the photograph-based intelligent model can predict OED probability and status in leukoplakia with good calibration and discrimination, which shows potential for decision support to select patients for biopsy/histopathology, obviate unnecessary biopsy, and assist in patient self-monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is a survey study, designed to determine the relationship between audio-visual materials and environmental factors on students' academic performance in Senior Secondary Schools in Borno State: Implications for Counselling. The study set two research objectives, and tested two research hypotheses. The population of this study is 1,987 students from three purposively selected Secondary Schools in Maiduguri. The sample size for this study was 110. The instruments used in this study consisted of Effect of Audio-visual and Environmental Influence on Student Academic Performance Questionnaire (EAEIAPQ) with reliability indices of 0.62. Based on the obtained indices coefficients, the instrument is reliable for use in this study. The data collected from students were tested using Pearson "r" because Pearson correlates the relationship between two variables. The results obtained in this study indicated that, that there was significant relationship between students' academic performance and instructional materials, therefore, the null hypothesis was rejected and there was significant relationship between students' academic performance and environmental factors. The null hypothesis was rejected. Recommendations were made to government, College Authorities and Counsellors since the relationship was good between the variables studied there is need for the school authorities to provide all the necessary instructional materials, government should also renovates the school building for better environment in all the Secondary School in Maiduguri Borno State.

This is a survey study, designed to determine gender differences and socio-economic status, self-concept on students' academic performance in Colleges of Education, Borno State: Implications for counselling. The study set two research objectives, answered two research questions and tested two research hypotheses. The target population of this study comprises of all the students of Colleges of Education in Borno State during 2013/2014 academic sessions. This study used Purposive Sampling Technique to select two Colleges of Education; Krejcie and Morgan's (2006)'s principle of determining sample size for research was used to select the sample and proportionate sampling procedure was also employed to draw 322 NCE III students. The instruments used in this study consisted of Socio-economic Status Questionnaire (SESQ), student's self-concept scale (SSS) and Students' Academic Performance Aptitude Tests (SAPAT) with reliability indices of 0.87, 0.62 and 0.62 respectively. Based on the obtained indices coefficients, both the instruments were reliable for use in this study. Descriptive statistic was used to answer the research questions and t-test was used to test the hypotheses The results obtained in this study indicated that, there was significant differences exist between gender and socioeconomic status among the students in Colleges of Education in Borno State. Therefore, the null hypothesis was rejected. Recommendations were made to government, College Authorities, parents, counsellors and other stakeholders in education, that College counsellors should use their techniques to counsel students to sustain and maintain the good relationship between the variables under study in Colleges of Education in Borno State.

Background: Post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is the use of short-term antiretroviral therapy (ART) following a single risk exposure to a potential source of HIV infection. If commenced within 72 hours following exposure, PEP has been reported to be very effective in preventing replication and spread of the virus and therefore prevent acquisition of infection. PEP is recommended for exposures occurring in both occupational and non-occupational settings. The objectives of this study are to review the profile of patients and determine the reasons for accessing PEP services in our facility with a view to recommending evidence-based solutions and ultimately contributing to achieving zero transmission of HIV. Methodology: A retrospective review of records of patients who received PEP for HIV in our facility over a 10-year period was carried out. Demographic and clinical variables of interest were extracted from the medical records and the PEP register of 252 eligible patients. Data were presented as frequencies, means, percentages and range. Bivariate analysis to determine association of clinical and demographic variables was carried out using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) with p<0.05 considered as statistical significance. Results: The mean age of the 252 patients studied was 26.25±11.81 years, and females accounted for 52.7%. The commonest reason for seeking HIV PEP was occupational exposure from sharps or needle sticks or splashes in 43.3% (109/252), while rape/sexual assault was the most common non-occupational reason for PEP in 29.0% (73/252) cases. Most (72.6% and 95.2%) of the patients presented within 24 hours and 72 hours respectively following exposure. While females accounted for 98.6% of cases of rape and sexual assault, children aged 10 years and below made up 28.8%. Conclusion: Although most patients sought PEP for HIV due to occupational exposure, majority of those who came for non-occupational exposure were due to rape or sexual assault, most of which occurred in children and adolescents. There is need to institute measures aimed at reducing the menace of rape and sexual assault especially of minors in our society and for health facilities to have psychosocial support mechanisms for these patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents a cost effective, reliable, and convenient mobile web-based system to facilitate the dissemination of course information to students, to support interaction that goes beyond the classroom. The system employed the Really Simple Syndication (RSS) technology and was developed using Rapid Application Development (RAD) methodology. The design of the system was modeled using Unified Modeling Language (UML) diagrams, while its implementation was done using Java Micro Edition (JME) and "PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor" (PHP). A simulation technique was used to evaluate the proposed system performance by comparing the approach used in its design to one adopted in a similar study, using response time and bandwidth consumption as metrics. The results obtained revealed that the performance of the proposed syndication system was better. Similarly, an experiment to investigate the students' perception of the system was conducted, with students' responses revealing a tremendous success of this project. (Contains 1 table and 11 figures.)

An improvement for the vacuum system of the multidriver radio frequency (RF) prototype negative ion source SPIDER has been developed, to allow operating at high RF power, while minimizing the breakdown probability on the outside of the plasma source. A first-of-its-kind large nonevaporable getter (NEG) pump, based on a modular design of 384 cartridges totaling about 350 kg of ZAO® alloy (composed by Zr-Ti-V-Al) with an installed pumping speed at a room temperature of 330 m3/s for hydrogen, will complement the existing pumping system, based on eight cryogenic pumps and four turbomolecular pumps totaling about 90 m3/s in hydrogen. The vessel pressure during absorption is expected to be between 20 and 40 mPa, while during the getter regeneration, the peak operating pressure will be around 2 Pa. The NEG pump will use an additional vessel module, with integrated thermal shields to protect the in-vessel components during activation and regeneration of the pump, to be carried out at temperatures in the range of 550–600 °C. Integrated thermal analyses were carried out to verify the low heat load on pre-existing in-vessel components with a low limit of acceptable temperature, and to provide boundary conditions for the mechanical verifications of the pump structure. The scenario of cyclic hydrogen load was calculated considering the SPIDER operation modes, the expected gas throughput, and the cumulated load to the pump, to determine the regeneration temperature and auxiliary pumping necessary to make the regeneration duration compatible with the high availability of the system. The upgrade of the auxiliary pumping system is also described, as well as the mitigation of air or water exposure risk during regeneration of the NEG pump. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The constituent recalcitrant color pigments and other organic pollutants (such as COD, and MLSS) in palm oil mill effluent (POME) are detrimental, yet the commonly employed conventional remediation method has been inefficient. This study focused on the development of an innovative hybrid membrane designed for efficient decolorization and separation of pollutants. The research involves the incorporation of magnesium oxide (MgO) nanoparticles at a varied loading (0.0–0.75 wt%) into polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and polyethylene-glycol (PEG) hollow-fiber using blending dry-jet wet-swirling phase inversion technique. Initially, the crystallinity and purity of the MgO were examined using X-ray diffraction before the application. Then, morphological characteristics, elemental constituents, mechanical strength, and thermal stability of the resultant membranes were examined using Scanning Electron Microscopy, Energy Diffraction X-ray, tensile loading, and thermogravimetric analysis. The performance results indicated that the membrane sample with the nanoparticles MgO-0.50wt% demonstrated superior mechanical and thermal stability, as well as separation performance. The membrane was able to remove the colorants, COD, suspended solids, total nitrogen, and turbidity by 80.05, 94.10, 98.67, 87.02, and 96.01 %, respectively. Additionally, the sample has the highest flux recovery ratio of 0.929 (or 92.9 %) with a minimal irreversible fouling ratio of 0.071 (or 7.1 %). The regeneration and reusability analysis indicates that at the end of the 4th filtration cycle, the modified membrane (0.50 wt% MgO) exhibited only a 23.22 % reduction in permeability flux. This finding suggests that the nanoparticles MgO 0.50wt% PVDF/PEG sample is a promising technology for POME treatment.